FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT PUBLIC OFFERING - PAGE 4

Blaming a market saturated with new stock offerings, Black & Decker Corp. postponed yesterday the initial public offering for PRC Advanced Systems Inc., its computer systems subsidiary.It was the second unsuccessful effort by the Towson-based maker of power tools and appliances to sell the subsidiary since it was acquired as part of the purchase of Emhart Corp. in 1989.The company's announcement came after Black & Decker made a series of presentations that failed to draw the desired number of institutional investors.

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. -- Re/Max International Inc., the real estate franchiser that ascended to the top of the home-sales industry with its revolutionary commission structure, is setting the groundwork for an initial public offering. Re/Max officials confirmed last week that they are considering an IPO for the company but that it is at least several years away. Such a move "is inevitable," said co-founder and Chairman Dave Liniger, who owns the majority of the company with his wife and co-founder, Gail.

I. C. Isaacs & Co. Inc., an 84-year-old Baltimore-based clothing designer and manufacturer that employs about 75 people here, plans to sell 39 percent of its common stock through an initial public offering, according to records filed yesterday with federal regulators.The company makes men's and women's sportswear, selling clothing under the Boss and Beverly Hills Polo Club brands.I. C. Isaacs, which had net sales of $119 million last year, maintains a plant on Bank Street.The terms of the stock sale call for Isaacs to offer 3.8 million common shares at $12 to $14 each.

American DreamCar Inc., a Bethesda-based company that rebuilds classics from the so-called muscle cars of the '60s and '70s, announced yesterday that it is seeking Securities and Exchange Commission approval for its initial public offering of stock.It also revealed that it could be moving its assembly plant to Baltimore from the Cleveland area.Robert G. Seasonwein, president of DreamCar, said the company needs to consolidate its production and has been meeting with Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development officials to discuss combining two of its plants, potentially employing 60 workers at a new site in Baltimore.

"BE CAREFUL about borrowing from your 401(k) plan," says Ellin & Tucker newsletter. "If you can't repay the loan, it will be treated as a distribution and subject to income tax. Also, you'll pay a 10 percent penalty if you're under age 59 1/2." "Investing in an IPO (initial public offering) is risky because the company has much less to offer in the way of history -- a `must' for evaluating a company." (Better Investing) "It's too soon to tell how many IPOs will have staying power, but of 170 companies that went public in 1990, more than 100 are trading below their original offer price."

Crop Genetics International Corp. felt the biotechnology industry's doldrums yesterday, as the Hanover company's offering of 2.5 million shares was priced at $4 a share, well below the price the company had originally expected."

Two national consumer groups yesterday accused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of concealing significant safety problems at a government-owned, Bethesda-based uranium producer in July, just as the company was about to issue its first public stock offering.Public Citizen and the Union of Concerned Scientists, consumer groups that focus on nuclear issues, both released internal NRC reports that identify numerous safety violations at two uranium facilities in Kentucky and Ohio by United States Enrichment Corp.

Eastportt International Inc. of Upper Marlboro, which identifies itself as the world's leading undersea search and recovery company, said yesterday that it had reached a preliminary agreement to be acquired by a Houston-based competitor.The Texas company, Oceaneering International Inc., agreed to acquire Eastport in a stock transaction valued at about $12.5 million, said George Haubenreich, vice president and general counsel for Oceaneering.Officials at both companies hailed the proposed transaction yesterday as "a positive development" for the Baltimore-Washington business community.

Integrated Health Services, a Hunt Valley-based provider of specialized long-term care, primarily to geriatric patients, reported a sharp increase in earnings for its third quarter, when it was able to take advantage of tax credits from previous reporting periods.It was Integrated's first reporting period since becoming a publicly traded company on April 25.Earnings from continuing operations for the quarter, which ended March 31, were $698,000, compared with $363,000 in the same period last year, an increase of 92 percent.

Internet search giant Google Inc. filed its highly anticipated initial public offering plan yesterday, revealing details for the first time about its profitable business and its expectation of raising $2.7 billion in the most-watched technology deal since the dot-com investment meltdown four years ago. In keeping with its founders' quirky management style, anti-big business sentiment and "Don't be evil" motto, the Mountain View, Calif., company said it will hold an online auction designed to give the public a better chance to purchase stock before shares begin trading.